The Asprox malware was discovered in 2008. It is involved in various phishing scams and SQL injections. In other words, it is involved in spreading the malware into the websites. Most of the people are thinking that it was inactivated in 2015. Recently, most of cybersecurity professionals have detected it. According to them, it is involved in various tech support scams by using scare tactics. To spread the malware, it is using high profile attacks. It was detected in 2008 and according to research, in 2008, it has infected more than 15,000 computers. The size of this botnet is variable. It means to save it from the cybersecurity professionals, they shrink the size of this botnet.
The propagation process of this malware is unusual. It is running actively to find and infect vulnerable websites. For this reason, it is running Active Server Pages. After finding the potential target in the form of a vulnerable website, it performs the SQL injections on it. While performing the SQL injections, it inserts the Iframe in the website. It will redirect the users to this website to the malicious hosting malware. As a result, it will last a bad impact on the user experience of this website. You should also know that it is affecting the websites in the form of waves. In the first wave, it is trying to infect as many waves as they can. It means that it is trying to achieve the highest possible spread rate.
After completing a wave, it will try to lay dormant for an extended period. As a result, it saves itself from the aggressive counterreactions from the security community. According to cybersecurity agencies, the first wave of this malware took place in July 2008. During this period, it has infected thousands of web pages. After that, the second wave took place in October 2009. During this infection, this malware has infected various websites. The third wave took place in June 2010. During this infection, it has also infected thousands of websites. During each infection, it is utilizing new languages and attachment filenames. These languages and filenames are attached based on the locations of the victims.
This botnet is present in the form of large pools of the compromised computers. That’s why it has become a real security threat on the internet. It is combining two threat vectors. These two threat vectors are forming botnet and SQL injection attacks. It has lots of features. It is utilizing the centralized command control structure. HTTP based communication is also an essential feature of this malware. It is utilizing advanced double fast-flux service networks to get access to the systems of the victims. To recruit the new bots, it is utilizing SQL injection attacks. To spread the malware binaries, it is utilizing social engineering tricks. All of these features are showing that it has become the real security threat on the internet.
How Asprox Malware Became APT?
Study by a dissertation help firm shows that Asprox is one of the most famous malware that is using APT-like invasion techniques to attack the websites. It is also garnering the full attention of the FireEye analytics. Due to its technical techniques, it has become the most famous malware in history. It is exploiting the uncomplicated vulnerabilities by using the SQL injections. To convince the victims, it sends a trustworthy URL. In some cases, it also sends a trustworthy document via an email. According to security experts, this malware is involved in various kinds of activities. It is harvesting login credentials. It is driving fake advertising traffic to a website. The users are also using it to conduct the SQL injections on the unsecured websites. Here, we will discuss how Asprox malware became APT in four phases.
Initial Development:
As we have discussed earlier that it was first detected during summer 2008. During that time, it was remarkable. At that time, it had infected only a few thousands of websites. In these websites, there come government websites, health care websites and top business websites. It had infected these websites by using the technique of SQL injections.
Operating In Safe Havens:
Due to the spam botnets, McColo was shut down. It was a US-based ISP. Its hosting domain was associated with the C&C servers. In these botnets, Asprox malware was also included. At that time, it had decided to operate in the safe havens. For this reason, they had bought domains in countries like Russia and Estonia. The ISP operators had to face problems to get access to these botnets. Its reason was that their requests were suspended due to the illegal domains. Till now, Asprox and similar malware are proliferated in these two countries.
Diversification Of The Phishing Techniques:
Asprox malware has become a real threat on the internet because it is using diversifying phishing techniques. It means that in 2008, it has used the English language to send phishing emails to the victims. In 2013, it has diversified its phishing techniques. In 2013, it has used local languages to send emails based on the locations of the victims. For example, it has sent the messages in the Spanish and German languages. It is also making changes in its spear phishing techniques. In the beginning, it has used emails to send spam emails. After that, it had sent malware by using push notifications. Nowadays, it is sending malware by using news updates.
Persistence In The Threat Landscape:
When cybersecurity professionals detect malware, they try to get rid of this malware. After taking strict actions against the malware, they can easily get rid of this malware. In this case, it is showing persistence in the threat landscape. It means that after getting rid of this malware, it appears with the new code. When cybersecurity professionals detect it, it infects lots of systems. That’s why we are saying that it has become a new threat on the internet. Another feature of this malware is that it is using a simple technique to infect the victims. That’s why it is difficult for us to detect it.
